A boy, his boy, and his dog
by la lune du sang
Summary: This is a little story I thought of while playing Fallout 3, staring my in-game character. As the title suggests, Dogmeat is also a key figure, as well as a certain wasteland kid. Please note, this story is FALLOUT 3 ONLY, not 1 and 2. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

**Here it is, the beginning of my Fallout 3 fanfic. I've been playing Fallout 3 a lot lately, and I came up with a really good idea for a story that starts something like this.**

**_DISCLAIMER:_ I don't own Fallout 3. The game and everything in it is owned by Bethseda and they have full rights to all of it. Everything original that I create (including this story itself) is owned by me and cannot be reproduced, used, or reposted on another website without my permission. If you'd like to use it for something, please send me an e-mail or PM. The only website with permission to display this story is . Please let me know if you find this story (or anything too similar) on a different site.**

**_!!!ATTENTION: _I URGE YOU TO FINISH FALLOUT 3 (AND THE BROKEN STEEL ADD-ON) BEFORE READING THIS FANFIC. IF YOU DON'T MIND SPOILERS, THEN GO RIGHT AHEAD, BUT IF YOU DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO BE SPOILED, GO FINISH THE GAME, THEN COME BACK. I ALSO URGE YOU TO PLAY AT LEAST A _LITTLE _BIT OF THE GAME BEFORE READING THIS, BECAUSE SEVERAL THINGS IN MY STORY ARE TAKEN STRAIGHT OUT OF THE GAME. IF YOU ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH FALLOUT 3, I SUGGEST PULLING UP A GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH (SO YOU CAN KNOW WHAT THINGS/PEOPLE LOOK LIKE) AND THE FALLOUT WIKI (FOR INFO) (.com) AS YOU READ SO THINGS WON'T BE CONFUSING!!!**

**That's all for now. I'll try to update again soon, so until then, sit back and enjoy!  
**

* * *

Aron stretched and yawned as he looked out across the dreary grey landscape of the Capital Wasteland. Sometimes he wished he had stayed in Oasis, if just for a change of scenery. He reached over and rubbed the head of his faithful canine companion, Dogmeat. He had found the dog in an abandoned junkyard, his master having been killed by Raiders. Those damn Raiders, always killing and stealing whenever they pleased. They had tried to attack him several times, only to be gunned down before they could take anything.

"You know," Aron told the dog, "If it weren't for you, I would have gone insane a long time ago. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you…or the kid." Aron thought of the young boy, Bryan Wilks, he had taken in after the two had met. The poor kid's parents had been killed by the ants mutated by Dr. Lesko. Even though the doctor had good intentions, he was still a murderer and worse yet, he refused to take responsibility for the deaths he caused. Let's just say that the doctor and Aron's rifle hadn't gotten along too well. At the end of it all, the kid was all alone in Grayditch, and by the time Aron had fixed the ant problem, he and the kid had formed a close bond, so he took Bryan in and moved him into his house in Megaton. He treated the boy like his son, and defended him as such. Aron leaned back and smiled as he looked out over the view from one of his many "hideouts" scattered across the wastes, this one dubbed the "Sniper Shack." Every time he left, he boarded up the entrance, laid mines, and set booby traps to make sure that the stuff he left inside was safe.

As Aron continued to ponder over his life in the wastes, he suddenly heard a sound that made his heart skip a beat. A few seconds later, a vertibird emblazoned with the Enclave's logo flew over the small shack and landed in the nearby valley. Aron instantly leapt behind the rock he had been sitting on and snatched up his sniper rifle that had been leaning against the edge of the shack. He took up a sniping position and peered through the scope as the vertibird dropped off its passengers and took to the skies once again.

"Damn it! What is the Enclave doing here? I thought I got rid of them, at least in the Capital Wasteland, when I took out Autumn. I guess the original Enclave back west is pretty tenacious. Let's see…one scientist…two soldiers…one officer. Looks like a standard Enclave patrol, but I can't be too careful." Aron took careful aim and fired a shot at the scientist. He watched through the scope as the orange glass face shield of the scientist's suit shattered and blood spread over everything nearby, staining the white science suit. The soldiers and officers immediately jumped and started trying to find the culprit. Aron lined up another shot, and dropped the first of the soldiers. His power armor was powerful, but not powerful enough to stop a bullet to the head. The second soldier tried to duck for cover, but Aron was faster. He fired a third shot and killed the soldier as he made a desperate dive for a nearby rock. The officer, however, managed to duck behind a boulder and out of Aron's sight.

"Dogmeat, go!" At his command, the dog dashed off down the hill and made a beeline for the man's hiding spot. Aron quickly stowed the long-gun on his back and pulled out his sidearm, a 10mm submachine gun, and charged down after the dog. He watched as Dogmeat jumped over the boulder, and listened to the sound of plasma discharges from the man's plasma pistol. He wasn't worried, though, because the dog was very intelligent, more so than your garden-variety canine.

After a few moments, the discharges stopped and Dogmeat came strolling around the boulder, his tail wagging and blood dripping from his teeth. Aron knelt down, took out a small cloth, and wiped the dog's mouth. He stuffed the rag back into his pocket and strolled over to the officer's body. The dead man's throat looked as if it had been torn apart (which, in fact, it had), and his pistol was lying on the ground near his body. Aron walked over and unloaded the ammo from the gun and stuffed it into one of the pockets in his leather vest **(AN: For those of you familiar with Fallout 3, Aron**** usually wears the "Merc Cruiser Outfit")**. He then searched through the man's pockets and found more ammo and a piece of paper that had been folded up. Aron unfolded it and started to read.

To all Enclave personnel being deployed into the Capital Wasteland,

Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has arrived. Very shortly we will begin our campaign to retake the Capital Wasteland from those bastards in the Brotherhood of Steel. Keep in mind that this is our primary objective, but we also have several other goals to accomplish in this campaign. The most important of these other goals is the apprehension of the criminal Aron O'Shae. He is the individual responsible for the deaths of our late President John Henry Eden and Colonel Augustus Autumn, as well as the majority of the Enclave garrison that was stationed there and the destruction of our Mobile Base Crawler. He is known to be armed and very dangerous and allied with the Brotherhood. Please note that he is to be taken alive, as our new leader, President Kenneth Syn, would like to interrogate him, as would I. If anyone is to kill the criminal, they will report directly to me. Officers should make sure to keep detailed field reports so that we here at headquarters can analyze the situation and determine what steps need to be taken. President Syn and I will be arriving there within the next two weeks, and we expect the situation to be under control upon our arrival. Remain vigilant and remember: the Enclave is the one and only hope for the nation in these difficult times.

Newly appointed leader of Enclave troops,

Colonel April Springstein

**(AN: The name of the new commander has somewhat of a connection with Col. Autumn's name. His first and last names were a month and the corresponding season (the month of August is in the autumn season) and so are hers (the month of April is in the spring season). Just thought you might want to know).**

"Well, I didn't think they'd appoint new leaders so soon. Looks like they're still angry about what I did to them. Oh well, they deserved it for all the grief they put everyone through." Aron folded up the note and stuck it in his pocket. He looted the bodies of the two soldiers and the scientist and went back up to his shack. He gathered the supplies that he usually took with him and boarded up the small building. With that finished, he set off across the wastes with Dogmeat in tow.

............

Aron arrived at the gates of Megaton and was greeted by one of the many pre-recorded greetings of the city's robotic sentry Deputy Weld. He waved at Stockholm as he approached and the man acknowledged him and opened the gates **(AN: For those who are wondering who Stockholm is, he is the sentry of Megaton. He can be found on the catwalk over the Megaton city gates (most easily visible from inside). You can either use V.A.T.S. to target him or (for the PC) use the console to turn off collisions and walk to him through the air)**. Aron instantly headed through the large gates and started toward his house. He waved at Lucas Simms, the mayor and sheriff, as he passed. He stepped over one of the large pipes that carried steam across the city and made his way around the corner of his house, and finally to the door. He twisted the knob and pushed the door open. Almost instantly he was practically tackle-hugged by Bryan, and had to sidestep into the doorframe to avoid tripping over Dogmeat.

"Oof," he grunted as his back hit the wall, "take it easy, kid. You almost knocked me over."

"Sorry," the boy replied, "you've just been gone for so long. I missed you." Aron just smiled and shut the door behind him. As he ruffled the boy's hair, a "Mister Handy" robot floated up to him.

"Good afternoon, sir," it said in its robotic British accent, "What can I do for you?"

"Hey, Wadsworth, give me three waters."

"Very good, sir." The robot instantly dispensed three bottles of pure water (not the nasty radiation-packed kind that was normally found) and handed them to its master. Aron handed one to Bryan, set the second on the picnic table in the middle of the room, and poured the third into a dog bowl near the far wall, from which Dogmeat began to drink. He sat at the table across from Bryan and took a sip from his water bottle.

"So," Bryan asked him, "where'd you go this time. C'mon, tell me!"

"Nowhere special," Aron told the boy, "I just went to make sure that all of my little hiding spots were secure and everything is still where it should be. Oh, by the way, I picked up a little present for you." Aron slung the bag off of his shoulder and reached inside, pulling a baseball glove from the bag's innards.

"It's still in pretty good shape, so I figured I'd bring it back to you so we could toss a ball around sometime."

"Wow," Bryan's eyes shone with pleasure as he took the glove, "it's great! Thank you so much!"

"No problem," Aron smiled at him, "now here's a few caps. Go see if Moira has a baseball you could buy and meet me up at the gates. I've got to go talk to Lucas." Bryan nodded and scurried out of the house. Aron just sat for a second and smiled after the boy before standing and departing. He walked down the metal catwalks and stepped out onto the ground near the undetonated atom bomb around which the city was built. There, in a pool of irradiated water stood Confessor Cromwell, giving his usual "Children-of-Atom-praise-this-bomb" speech. To be perfectly honest, few people actually listened to what he was saying, but the Church of Atom helped out a lot in the city, so people usually just let them be.

Aron spotted Lucas making his usual rounds around the city, and hurried to catch up with him.

"Lucas!" As he got close, he shouted the man's name, and Lucas turned to acknowledge the cry.

"Ah, Aron," the dark-skinned man greeted him with a firm handshake, "what can I do for you?"

"Well," Aron replied, "there's something happening out in the Wasteland, Lucas, but I don't want to say too much out here. Let's go find somewhere more private to talk." Lucas just nodded and bade Aron follow him. The two men proceeded into Lucas's house, where his son Harden greeted them with a hardy wave.

"Harden," Lucas told the boy, "why don't you go see what little Maggie's up to? Mr. O'Shae and I need to have a little chat." Harden simply nodded and departed the house. Lucas moved upstairs to a small hatch in the roof and climbed through. Aron followed and the two men emerged into the back end of a dismembered airplane that served as Lucas's lookout point.

"So," he turned and asked Aron, "what is it you wanted to tell me about? From the tone of your voice, I can tell it's not a good thing."

"I went out into the wastes today," Aron replied, "to checkup on my hideouts. Everything was going as usual, when an Enclave vertibird showed up."

"The Enclave," Lucas said, puzzled, "I thought they pulled out of the Wasteland when you destroyed that mobile base of theirs."

"Yeah," Aron nodded, "so did I. Anyway, the vertibird deployed a small patrol of Enclave troops not too far from where I was. I managed to take them out, and I found this on the ranking man there." He pulled the letter from his pocket and handed it to Lucas, who unfolded and read it. After he was done he lowered the letter and took a short pause before speaking.

"Hmm," he said as he stroked his beard, "this is pretty dark news. Not only are they coming back to make our lives hell again, but they seem pretty bound and determined to capture you, not to mention the appointment of their new leaders. What are gonna do about this?"

"I dunno," Aron shrugged, "but I figured you should know about it, at least. I'll probably head over to Rivet City in the next couple of days. Banner and Harkness will want to know about this. I'll probably also go visit Three Dog, so he can get the news out through GNR and let everyone know to prepare." Lucas nodded and sighed.  
"Well, it looks like shit's about to hit the fan again."

"Yeah, no kidding. We'll just have to get ready for them. When I go to Rivet City, I'll see if I can pick up anything that'll help the defenses here. If they found out that you were 'harboring a criminal' they'd come down on Megaton with full force, and I can't allow that to happen."

"Thanks," Lucas shook Aron's hand again, "neither can I. I appreciate everything you're doing for this city."

"Hey," Aron placed his hand on Lucas's shoulder, "it's my city now, too. I can't just let the Enclave take it." Lucas laughed as Aron bid him goodbye and descended through the hatch and made his way out of the house.

* * *

**Okay, since the story is over, let me explain a few things:**

**1-The main character, Aron**** O'Shae, is based off of my actual Fallout 3 character. In case you're curious, he has red hair, green eyes, and good karma.**

**2- For those of you who missed it (and with generally sick minds) the relationship between Aron**** and Bryan Wilks is NOT, in any way, pedophilic. It even says in the story that their relationship is father/son, not child/pedophile.**

**3- I know by now at least a few of you FO3 junkies that are reading this are wondering where exactly the "Sniper Shack" is. It is an unmarked location in-game, and is actually the abandoned shack on the hill overlooking Rockbreaker's Last Gas where you can find the unique sniper rifle called the Victory Rifle.**

**4- For those of you unfamilar with the game, it is set in the future. The actual in-game year is 2077, but this story takes place approximately a year after the events of the Broken Steel add-on (which would be about 2071). Also, the setting is a post-apocolyptic earth after what everyone thinks is going to be WWIII (everyone firing atomic bombs at each other). Any water is filled with radiation, and there a few large settlements. That was for those of you who didn't know.**

**Alright, please R&R. Constructive criticism is accecpted, but harsh "I-hate-this-story-it-sucks-blah-blah" kinds of criticism will not be accepted. Please be polite, because I know you wouldn't want me to review your story like that. Hope you guys liked it; next chapter in the works!**

**"Le renard change sa forrue, mais pas ses habites"**

**La lune du sang**

**(P.S.- That's French for an ancient Latin saying: "A fox changes his fur, not his habits.")  
**


	2. Chapter 2

"You know what to tell them."

April Springstein sat in a large chair at an Enclave air base in California. She was addressing one of her subordinates who transferred her orders to the Enclave troops stationed in the Capital Wasteland.

"This man, Aron O'Shae, has a weakness that was discovered by some of our undercover agents still roaming the Capital Wasteland." She tapped a few buttons on a nearby panel and two pictures appeared on a screen above her head. "This boy, Brian Wilks, and this dog, called Dogmeat by O'Shae, are the most treasured things that that man has in his little world. Because of that, they are also our ticket to him. Tell...whoever it is that's in charge over there that I want these two waiting for me in a prison cell when I arrive."

The man saluted her and left. She tapped at the panel again and a picture of Aron replaced those of Brian and Dogmeat that had been on the screen moments before. The Colonel turned to look at the screen.

"Aron O'Shae," she said with a wicked smile, "it will be my pleasure to teach you that nobody opposes the Enclave and escapes scot-free. Instead of just capturing, torturing, and eventually killing you, I'm going to make you suffer much, much more."

…...

Aron closed the door behind him and headed up toward the city's gates. As he approached, he saw Brian standing with the glove tucked under his arm and a baseball clutched in his hands. When he spotted Aron, his face lit up and he rushed over.

"Hey," Aron said, "you manage to get that baseball?" The boy nodded and handed him the ball. "Wow, this one's still got the whole skin on it and everything. Come on, let's go toss this around."

He led Brian to the gate and around to the side of the large wall surrounding Megaton. He removed the sniper rifle from his back and leaned it against a nearby rock, making sure he'd be able to get to it if something bad showed up. He turned around and Brian tossed the baseball to him. He didn't have a glove or anything, but catching a baseball wasn't too hard and besides, he was more worried about Brian than himself. It took a few throws, but Brian eventually learned how to catch the ball. Aron laughed and couldn't help but feel all warm inside every time Brian looked at him with that smiling face. He tossed the ball again, but threw it a bit too high this time. The small white sphere flew over the boy's head as Aron laughed and shouted an apology. Brian turned around to go grab the ball, and Aron took the chance to glance around his immediate surroundings.

"Hey," he heard Brian say, "what's that over there?"

Aron snatched up his rifle, just in case, and jogged over to where Brian was standing. He followed Brian's pointing finger. In the distance, there seemed to be an unusually large amount of light coming from the direction of the school in nearby Springvale that stood out against the quickly dimming light.

"I don't know," Aron said slowly, "but I don't like it. Come on, let's go back inside."

Aron quickly led Brian back inside Megaton's walls and to their house. He sat the boy at the table downstairs and went to his bedroom and grabbed the Chinese stealth suit that he'd obtained from helping a group of Outcasts access the armory of an old military base. He pulled it on over his clothes and headed back downstairs, the suits helmet in hand.

"Stay inside." He commanded Brian. The boy nodded.

Aron exited the house and headed down to intercept Lucas as he made his rounds.

"Lucas," he said as he caught up to the man, "something's going on over at Springvale."

"Springvale?" Lucas looked confused. "Are you sure? I thought you cleaned the Raiders out of that place."

"So did I, but someone's over there. I'm going use this old Chinese stealth suit to get close and see if I can't figure out what's going on, but I wanted to warn you, just in case."

"Alright," the man nodded, "come see me as soon as you get back."

Aron nodded and left the city. He made his way carefully toward the ruined city, being careful to watch out for anything that might want a midnight snack. As he neared the school building, he messed with a device on the suit's arm and activated it's stealth field. To anything that might have been observing Aron, he appeared to have vanished. He crept closer and closer to the school until he was close enough to touch the bricks. He moved slowly toward the front of the building.

What he saw made his heart stop. There, set up in what was once a parking lot and road for the school, sat an Enclave field base. The fold-out metal blockades and tents sat clustered around floodlights, which lit up the area as if it were the middle of the day. A large group of soldiers stood in the middle of the camp, apparently waiting for something. A few moments later, a man dressed in an officer's outfit came striding out of one of the tents, and he walked up a short ramp on one of the barricades.

"Attention troops!" All the soldiers that had been standing around snapped to attention. "We have reason to believe that the criminal Aron O'Shae is hiding in the nearby settlement of Megaton. While it pains Colonel Springstein to have to give the order, we have been ordered to attack the settlement and apprehend the criminal. Any of the citizens who resist are to be met with force. In two hours, we will begin our assault. Make sure your weapons are working and loaded and your armor is—"

Aron didn't hear the rest of the man's speech, because he was moving fast—well, as fast as he could without giving himself away—back toward Megaton. When he thought he was far enough away, he deactivated the suit's stealth field, yanked off the helmet and began sprinting back towards the city. When he arrived, Lucas was waiting for him just inside the gate.

"I take it this is bad news." The man's face looked grim.

"It's the Enclave," Aron said as he struggled to put air back in his lungs, "they're getting ready to launch an attack on Megaton."

"What! How long?"

"Two hours." Aron pulled Lucas along with him as he began moving through the city. "Go round up Billy, Jericho, and anyone else who can hold a gun and get them out front with Deputy Weld. Get Harden to go order Deputy Steel to enact his city defense protocols. Also, see if you can talk Moira into getting that mercenary she's got watching her store to help fight them off. I'll get on my radio and see if I can't contact Rivet City or the Brotherhood and get them to send help. At the very least, I'll contact Three Dog and get him to spread the word."

Lucas nodded and hurried off into the city as Aron headed back to his own house. He burst in the door so quickly that both Brian and Dogmeat jumped up in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Brian noticed the worried look on Aron's face.

"It's nothing you need to worry about." Aron knelt down and looked in the boy's eyes. "Listen closely: when I leave, I want you to lock the door. Then take Dogmeat and go into your room and close the door. Stay in there and don't come out until I come and get you, alright?" Brian nodded "Good, Wadsworth come here."

Aron led the robot upstairs and into his room. He closed the door behind him.

"Is everything alright, sir?" The robot asked. "You look worried."

"I am. Look," he replied, "there's a chance that Enclave soldiers may get inside the city soon. If anyone who doesn't live in this city comes through that door, I want you to kill them. You can use the flamer, but try not to damage the house too much."

"Affirmative, sir."

"Good, now go downstairs." The robot gave another 'affirmative' and floated out the door and down the stairs. Aron quickly turned on the ham radio and called for anyone who could pick up. Soon enough, Thee Dog did respond. After quickly explaining the situation to him, Aron asked him to pass along the message to the Brotherhood and try, if he could, to speak directly to Sentinel Lyons or Star Paladin Cross. Three Dog gave his word that he would try his best, and Aron turned the radio off. After gathering a few extra weapons, he headed towards the door.

"Hey," he told Brian as he passed, "you remember what I told you?" Brian nodded. "Good, Dogmeat, come here." The dog trotted over and Aron bent down to scratch him behing the ear.

"Listen," he whispered in the dog's ear, "protect Brian while I'm gone. If any of those Enclave bastards make it past Wadsworth, you know what to do. Protect him, but don't get yourself killed, alright."

The dog barked in reply and Aron stood and left, closing the door behind him. He didn't walk away until her heard the door lock behind him. By the time he'd arrived outside Megaton's gate, Lucas was waiting with several of the city's most able-bodied residents, all armed and ready to defend their home.

"We're all here," Lucas said as Aron approached, "what's your plan?"

"I don't want anyone here dying," Aron told him, "so we're going to try to do this in a way that ends with that result. They're trying to get at me, Lucas, and they'll go through anyone and anything that gets in their way."

"I know."

"Good, then here's my plan. I want you to use what time we have left before the Enclave troops get here to make hollow spots in the walls, just big enough for someone to hide in. Try to make enough for everyone here and leave a small opening that can be used as a firing slot. When they get here, I want you and everyone else to get in one of those little cubbyholes and shoot at the Enclave from there. That'll offer the most chance that you'll all escape with your lives."

"But what about you?" Lucas put a hand on Aron's shoulder. "I don't want you making a martyr of yourself, kid."

"Didn't you read that note?" Aron laughed. "They want me alive. No matter how many of them I kill, the most they'll do is knock me unconscious and drag me off to a prison cell somewhere. It's you all that they've got no concern for."

"That's a pretty slick plan, kid. Alright then." Lucas turned to the assembled townspeople. "You heard the man! Get started with making those nooks, we ain't got much time before those Enclave bastards show up, so move quick!"

Lucas began helping the rest of the defenders build their little hiding spots while Aron sat on a rock a few feet away, sniper rifle in hand. He raised the rifle and peered through the scope, hoping that the Enclave didn't decide to strike early. He sighed and relaxed a bit when he didn't spot them coming towards the town.

_I don't know what you're up to, Springstein, but I've got no intention of letting you and the Enclave take over again...ever._


End file.
